Fire extinguishing sprinkling system

ABSTRACT

An automatic fire extinguishing sprinkling system of the type permanently installed in commercial establishments and the like and which is adapted for automatic operation upon the sensing of a fire by automatic sensing devices and which includes proportionalizing valves adapted for manual operation of selected portions of the system by an individual detecting the fire previously to the activation of the automatic devices and thus manually activating the required portion of the sprinkling system to extinguish the limited fire without having to activate the entire sprinkling system which would result in excessive water damage to those areas otherwise not affected by the fire, the system including a pair of concentrically disposed shafts each having an operating handle at one end with the opposite ends connected by sprocket chains to valves of the sprinkling system such that operation of one shaft will effect activation of the entire sprinkling system whereas operation of the other shaft will effect activation of only a proportionalized section of the sprinkling system where the fire has been detected.

United States Patent [1 1 Scruggs I Apr. 8, 1975 1 FIRE EXTINGUISHINGSPRINKLING SYSTEM [76 Inventor: Andrew Scruggs, 4859 Alexander [52] US.Cl 169/18; 251/294 [51] Int. Cl. A62c 37/20 [58] Field of Search 169/5,16, 17, 18, 37; 251/294 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS144,039 10/1873 Suttcr 169/18 224.431 2/1880 Hill 169/18 792,794 6/1905Rogers 169/16 983,606 2/1911 Corneliussen i 169/16 1.877.088 9/1932Tyden 169/16 X Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. AssistantE.\'uminerMichael Mar [57] ABSTRACT An automatic fire extinguishingsprinkling system of the type permanently installed in commercialestablishments and the like and which is adapted for automatic operationupon the sensing of a fire by automatic sensing devices and whichincludes proportionalizing valves adapted for manual operation ofselected portions of the system by an individual detecting the tirepreviously to the activation of the automatic devices and thus manuallyactivating the re quired portion of the sprinkling system to extinguishthe limited fire without having to activate the entire sprinkling systemwhich would result in excessive water damage to those areas otherwisenot affected by the fire, the system including a pair of concentricallydisposed shafts each having an operating handle at one end with theopposite ends connected by sprocket chains to valves of the sprinklingsystem such that operation of one shaft will effect activation of theentire sprinkling system whereas operation of the other shaft willeffect activation of only a proportionalized section of the sprinklingsystem where the fire has been detectcd.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEMR mm minimum! 5 are:

1 FIRE EXTINGUISHING SPRINKLING SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l.Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to fireextinguishing sprinkling systems of the type permanently installed incommercial establishments and the like, and more particularly to a noveland improved sprinkling system permitting manual activation of selectedportions thereof by an individual detecting a fire previously to thefire activating an automatic detector thus permitting the fire to beextinguished with minimum water damage to the immediate surroundings notaffected by the fire.

2. Description of the Prior Art It has been known in the prior art toprovide fire extin guishing sprinkling systems which are automatic inoperation and of the type having separate valves spaced at intervalsalong the ceiling of an establishment with each valve operable to spraywater outwardly therefrom upon a fire resulting of sufficient heat andintensity to melt a sealing block in the spray head thus permittingwater to be sprayed outwardly therefrom in a manner to extinguish thefire. However, such devices require that the fire reach a significantheat intensity to melt the block, so that before the fire is detectedand extinguished the same may have spread to other areas beyond thespray pattern of the spray head such that the devices are not fullypositive in action as to extinguishment of the fire. Further, due to thesealing block in the spray head it is not operable manually should anindividual detect a tire and wish to activate the sprinkling system,such that the individual must rely on hand operated extinguishingequipment in hopes to retain and extinguish the fire.

In view of such difficulties of spray heads with heat melting sealingblocks therein, systems were developed where spray heads were disposedin the same manner as the prior system except that the flow of watertherethrough is controlled by a central valve which is electricallyoperated and connected to fire sensing devices disposed throughout theestablishment such that should a fire be detected by such sensing devicethe same opens the valve and thus supplies water to all of the sprayheads throughout theestablishment to extinguish the blaze. However, notonly does this extinguish the fire but it also provides a high level ofwater damage to all surrounding areas since the system was not onlyactivated in the area of the fire, but also in those areas completelyseparate from the fire. Further, a main disadvantage of this system isthat should the fire have been detected by an individual that the onlyway the individual could extinguish the fire is by activating thecomplete system and thus again causing the same amount of water damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention recognizes thedeficiencies and disadvantages of presently available fire extinguishingsprinkling systems as installed in a commercial establishment and thelike, and provides a novel solution thereto in the form of aproportioning valve assembly which permits an individual seeing a fireto manually turn on only that portion of the sprinkling system for theparticular section where the fire is at rather than having to wait forthe automatic controls of the sprinkling system to operate the mainvalve, this serving to rapidly extinguish the fire and alsosubstantially limit the property damage resulting from excessive water.

A further provision of the present invention is that the individual maymanually operate the particular section of the sprinkling systempertaining to where the fire is detected, and if the fire is of a largerarea than the individual can, at the same location, activate thecomplete fire extinguishing system to assure complete extinguishing ofthefire, the individual not having to run about the establishment todifferent locations for activating different sections of the system butbeing able to do that which is required from a single location.

It is a feature of the present invention to provide a fire extinguishingsprinkling system for use in stores, warehouses, factories and the likeand which is proportionalized to permit manual operation of selectedportions thereof without causing excessive water damage to surroundingmerchandise and which may be readily manually activated at the will ofan individual if the use thereof appears justifiable in place of smallerhand held fire extinguishers and the like.

A further feature of the present invention provides a fire extinguishingsprinkling system wherein portions thereof may be manually operated toextinguish a fire while other portions thereof remain inoperative thuslimiting water damage to the establishment.

The provision of a fire extinguishing sprinkling system such as brieflyoutlined above. and possessing the stated features and advantages,constitutes the principal features and advantages of the presentinvention. The provision of a proportionalized fire extinguishingsprinkling system which may be readily manufactured at substantially thesame cost as presently available fire extinguishing systems not havingthe same features and advantages; one which is possessed of few partsand therefore is assured of positive operation when emergency usethereof is required; one which is of a rugged and durable construction;one which is easy to use and reliable and efficient in operation; onewhich may, in its entirety, by manufactured and installed as part of theoriginal fire extinguishing equipment of a sprinkling system or whichmay be readily attached thereto at a later date as an accessory item forupdating and modernizing the system by proportionalizing andsectionalizing the same; and one which, otherwise, is well adapted toperform the services required of it, are among the further desirablefeatures and advantages which have been borne in mind in the productionand development of the present invention.

Other features and advantages of this invention will be apparent duringthe course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings forming apart of this specification, and in which like reference characters areemployed to designate like parts throughout the same:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical commercial establishment andhaving sections thereof broken away to illustrate a portion of a fireextinguishing system disposed along the ceiling thereof and constructedin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the operating shaftsand wheels and the valves associated therewith typifying the system ofthe present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along Line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along Line 4-4 of FIG.2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings indetail there is illustrated a preferred form of a fire extinguishingsprinkling system constructed in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention and which is shown as deployed in a commercialestablishment having a plurality of rooms 11, 12 and 13 therein dividedby walls 14 and 15 with appropriate passageways and doorways extendingthrough the walls to interconnect the various rooms.

For purposes of illustration the system of the present invention isshown proportionalized only for room 13 with it being understood thatsimilar systems in accord with the invention are intended to be deployedwith rooms 11 and 12 in the same manner as will be described for theroom 13.

A main sprinkling pipe 21 having a plurality of spray heads 22 extendsthe length of the building 10 over all of the rooms 11-13 and isconnected to a water supply pipe 23 which, in turn, is connected to amain water supply pipe 24. A rotary type valve of an iris constructionis interposed in pipe 21 and is rotatable about its axis between aposition opening the pipe to discharge water from the spray heads 22,and a position closing the pipe, the valve 25 being manually operable bya sprocket wheel 26 formed therewith and about which is trained asprocket chain 27 depending downwardly therefrom to engage asubstantially aligned sprocket wheel 28 at one end of a hollowcylindrical shaft 29 which is journaled for rotation in bearing 30mounted in wall 31 and projects therethrough to terminate at a fly-wheel32 such that rotation of the fly-wheel about its axis will effect theoperation of the valve 25. It is to be understood that for automaticoperation of the valve 25 that the same may have an electric motor (notshown) associated with the sprocket chain 27 and which is electricallyconnected to fire detecting sensing devices spaced throughout thebuilding 10 such that should fire be detected then such sensing deviceswill energize the motor in a manner to open the valve 25 and spray waterthroughout the building to extinguish the fire.

Disposed along the ceiling of building 10 is a tube 31 having aplurality of spray heads 32 disposed in the region of room 13 with thetube being connected by a water supply pipe 33 to the main water supplysource 24. An iris type control valve 35 is mounted in tube 31 and isadapted for rotation about its axis in a manner to open and close thetube for passage of water therethrough to permit such water to sprayfrom spary heads 32 into room 13. The operation of valve 35 is effectedby a toothed sprocket wheel 36 about which is trained a sprocket chain37 which extends downwardly therefrom to be trained about asubstantially aligned sprocket wheel 38 mounted on a shaft 39 whichextends concentrically through cylindrical shaft 29 and a support plate40 adjacent fly-wheel 32 to terminate in an operating fly-wheel 42. Theopposite end of shaft 39 is journaled for rotation in bearing 44supported by brace 45 mounted to the floor 46 of the building 10.

It is to be understood that similar shafts 29 and rods 39 may beprovided in conjunction with additional tubes to separately protectrooms 12 and 11, or alternatively, that such operating shafts for theadditional rooms 11 and 12 may be disposed concentric with the shaft 29such that a total of four fly-wheels would project from wall 31 in thatthere would be a main flywheel for turning on the complete system andthree separately operable fly-wheels each adapted to operate anassociated valve for operating the proportioned fire spray extinguishingsystem for that particular room only.

In operation an individual manually operates flywheel 42 when theindividual has detected a fire in room 13 thus activating spray heads 32in a manner to extinguish the fire rather than waiting for the automaticfire detectors to detect the fire and open main valve 25 which wouldenergize all of the spray heads causing excessive water damage in rooms11 and 12 even though the fire may be completely contained in room 13.On the other hand, should the individual detect the fire as beingwidespread or as being in many different locations, then the individualmay readily rotate fly-wheel 32 in a manner to open main valve 25 andactivate spray heads 22 in a manner to spray the entire building toextinguish the fire. In this way the extinguishing system while beingautomatic in operation should no individuals be present is also manuallyoperated in a selective manner by an individual such that human judgmentcomes into play in that if the fire is severe enough to warrant the useof the sprinkling system then the individual can activate the sprinklingsystem in a proportional manner to spray just the immediate areaaffected by the fire, and should the fire be larger or continue tospread then the individual can activate the main sprinkling system, allthis taking place hopefully earlier than the fire has been detected bythe automatic fire detecting sensors such that the individual is incomplete control of the extinguishing of the fire in a manner minimizingwater damage to the building and merchandise contained therein, and alsoeffecting the extinguishing of the fire at an earlier stage than wouldbe accomplished if the fire were left to blaze until after it reached asufficient heat intensity to activate one of the automatic firedetecting sensors which would then energize the complete fireextinguishing system for the building.

A further feature of the present invention and a distinct advantagethereof is that by having the fly-wheels disposed concentric with eachother at a single operating location that an individual need only turnone of the fly-wheels to activate the proportioned fire extinguishingsystem and then, from the same location, may also activate the main fireextinguishing system if it appears that the same is required toextinguish the fire.

It is to be understood that the form of this invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, andthat this invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement ofparts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in thisspecification as various changes in the details of construction as toshape, size, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, the scope of the novelconcepts thereof, or the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed 1. A fireextinguishing sprinkling system comprising a main water line having aplurality of spray heads associated therewith and adapted to protect acomplete area of a building and the like, a tube having a plurality ofspray heads associated therewith and adapted to protect aproportionalized portion of the building as protected by said firstmentioned pipe, a source of water connected by suitable pipe lines tosaid first mentioned pipe and said tubing, a valve connected to saidpipe and operable between an on and an off position to control the flowof water through said pipe to said spray heads,

a valve associated with said tubing and operable between an on and anoff position in a manner to control the flow of water to said sprayheads connected thereto, a first operating means spaced remotely fromsaid first valve and adapted to operate the same, a second operatingmeans spaced remotely from said second valve and adapted to operate thesame, and said first and said second means disposed at the same locationwhereby an individual may selectively manually operate the main pipe,the proportion tube, or both the main pipe and the proportion tube foractivation of the associated spray heads for extinguishing a fire in thebuilding; said first and second valves are substantially identical inconstruction with each valve including a toothed sprocket wheeloperatively connected thereto and adpated to effect the operation of theassociated valve upon rotation of said sprocket wheel about its axis,said first operating means comprising an elongated hollow cylindricalshaft having a bore extending completely therethrough, one end of saidshaft having a sprocket wheel mounted thereon for rotation therewith,said shaft sprocket wheel lying substantially in the same plane as saidpipe sprocket wheel, the opposite end of said cylindrical shaft beingrotatably supported in a suitable mounting bracket and projectingtherethrough and terminating in a fly-wheel of an enlarged diameterrelative to said shaft, and an endless sprocket chain trained about saidpipe sprocket and said shaft sprocket whereby rotation of said shaftabout its axis by said fly-wheel will effect the simultaneous rotationand operation of said pipe valve means.

2. The fire extinguishing sprinkling system as set forth in claim 1wherein said second operating means comprises an elongated cylindricalrod like shaft extending concentrically through the bore of saidcylindrical shaft and projecting outwardly from opposite ends thereofand journaled for rotation for rotative movement about its axis relativethereto, the first end of said rod shaft projecting outwardly of saidcylindrical shaft fly-wheel and terminating in a fly wheel of a diametergreater than the diameter of said rod shaft and lesser than the diameterof said cylindrical shaft fly-wheel, the opposite end of said rod shaftbeing journaled for rotation in a bearing suitably supported by amounting bracket a sprocket wheel mounted on said rod shaft adjacentsaid bearing for rotation with said rod, said rod sprocket wheel beingdisposed substantially in the plane of said toothed sprocket wheel, andan endless sprocket chain trained about said toothed sprocket wheel andsaid rod shaft sprocket wheel whereby rotation of said rod about itsaxis effects the simultaneous rotation of said sprocket wheel to operatesaid tube valve.

3. The fire extinguishing sprinkling system as set forth in claim 2wherein both said tube valve and said pipe valve are of an irisconstruction adapted to rapidly and efficiently open and close saidassociated tube and pipe lines upon rotation of said operating flywheels.

1. A fire extinguishing sprinkling system comprising a main water linehaving a plurality of spray heads associated therewith and adapted toprotect a complete area of a building and the like, a tube having aplurality of spray heads associated therewith and adapted to protect aproportionalized portion of the building as protected by said firstmentioned pipe, a source of water connected by suitable pipe lines tosaid first mentioned pipe and said tubing, a valve connected to saidpipe and operable between an on and an off position to control the flowof water through said pipe to said spray heads, a valve associated withsaid tubing and operable between an on and an off position in a mannerto control the flow of water to said spray heads connected thereto, afirst operating means spaced remotely from said first valve and adaptedto operate the same, a second operating means spaced remotely from saidsecond valve and adapted to operate the same, and said first and saidsecond means disposed at the same location whereby an individual mayselectively manually operate the main pipe, the proportion tube, or boththe main pipe and the proportion tube for activation of the associatedspray heads for extinguishing a fire in the building; said first andsecond valves are substantially identical in construction with eachvalve including a toothed sprocket wheel operatively connected theretoand adpated to effect the operation of the associated valve uponrotation of said sprocket wheel about its axis, said first operatingmeans comprising an elongated hollow cylindrical shaft having a boreextending completely therethrough, one end of said shaft having asprocket wheel mounted thereon for rotation therewith, said shaftsprocket wheel lying substantially in the same plane as said pipesprocket wheel, the opposite end of said cylindrical shaft beingrotatably supported in a suitable mounting bracket and projectingtherethrough and terminating in a fly-wheel of an enlarged diameterrelative to said shaft, and an endless sprocket chain trained about saidpipe sprocket and said shaft sprocket whereby rotation of said shaftabout its axis by said fly-wheel will effect the simultaneous rotationand operation of said pipe valve means.
 2. The fire extinguishingsprinkling system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second operatingmeans comprises an elongated cylindrical rod like shaft extendingconcentrically through the bore of said cylindrical shaft and projectingoutwardly from opposite ends thereof and journaled for rotation forrotative movement about its axis relative thereto, the first end of saidrod shaft projecting outwardly of said cylindrical shaft fly-wheel andterminating in a fly-wheel of a diameter greater than the diameter ofsaid rod shaft and lesser than the diameter of said cylindrical shaftfly-wheel, the opposite end of said rod shaft being journaled forrotation in a bearing suitably supported by a mounting bracket asprocket wheel mounted on said rod shaft adjacent said bearing forrotation with said rod, said rod sprocket wheel being disposedsubstantially in the plane of said toothed sprocket wheel, and anendless sprocket chain trained about said toothed sprocket wheel andsaid rod shaft sprocket wheel whereby rotation of said rod about itsaxis effects the simultaneous rotation of said sprocket wheel to operatesaid tube valve.
 3. The fire extinguishing sprinkling system as setforth in claim 2 wherein both said tube valve and said pipe valve are ofan iris construction adapted to rapidly and efficiently open and closesaid associated tube and pipe lines upon rotation of said operating flywheels.